ATTACK! Wenger will never tell his teams to play negative football [GETTY]

Canny Frenchman Wenger claims it is Arsenal’s philosophy to never play with such negativity – but at the same time he has been on the receiving end of stinging criticism for sticking to his attacking style.

Chelsea have manoeuvred themselves into the race for title honours by playing the kind of football Wenger HATES.

Only last week, Liverpool chief Brendan Rodgers, in the wake of a damaging 2-0 defeat at Anfield, accused Chelsea of “parking two buses” in their own half.

The Blues’ victory reopened the door for Manchester City, giving them the chance to step through and take the title.

Arsenal could clinch fourth place today if they beat West Brom and secure Champions League football for a 17th time under Wenger.

But the Gunners coach insists they will do it in style and not by defending and relying on the counter-attack – a policy that has won Mourinho many trophies.

Portuguese ace Mourinho accused Wenger of being a ‘serial failure’ earlier in the season and then went on to see his side hammer the Gunners 6-0 in a game that ingloriously marked the Frenchman’s 1,000th match in charge of the North London club.

Meanwhile, questions are being asked about whether Chelsea’s style under Mourinho is to the liking of Blues owner Roman Abramovich.

When asked if he would ever ‘double park a bus’, Wenger said: “Park the bus? No. Never. We continue to make goals in some of these games.

“Our policy is to try to play our game. It’s the quality of our players. The system of the team has to adapt to the quality of the players because we have so many attacking players. We just play to our strengths.

"Sometimes, unfortunately, it has not worked for us this season but you have to go for a style.

“I accept that has sometimes caused us problems but I would not change anything.

“We have to analyse and ask why sometimes. And it is a regret we haven’t been more defensive but there are special circumstances, like when we played Chelsea and Manchester City with ten men.

WAR OF WORDS: Wenger says he would never do a Jose and park a bus in front of goal [STUART ROBINSON]

“Park the bus? No. Never. We continue to make goals in some of these games”

Arsene Wenger

“The only really bad performance, when you can say, ‘Yes, we were outplayed’, was on the day at Liverpool.

“A style is a long-term plan. Short term you can always change and that is dictated by the confidence of the team, which is in turn dictated by the results.

“You cannot swim against the tide. Sometimes the team needs to be reassured by being a bit less offensive.”

Wenger is vowing to play a full-strength side in the last game of the season against Norwich, even if they clinch fourth place before then.

He said: “I feel we have a duty to the rest of the league.

“Our target is to get maximum points at the end of the season, no matter what the results this weekend.

“I will absolutely try to achieve that and at Arsenal Football Club we have a responsibility to be fair, even if it goes well on Sunday.

“I will also tell you now we will not be buying in the summer for the sake of it.

“People say we want a striker but I say I want a midfield player more, or a defender.

“I can get a player to help Olivier Giroud in attack but I do not expect to be doing any business until July or August because I have always believed that in a World Cup year nothing really happens until that is over.”

One man who disagrees with Wenger’s stance on acquiring additional firepower for next season is Gunners legend Liam Brady.

The Irishman, who starred in the team that won the FA Cup in a memorable 3-2 win over Dave Sexton’s Manchester United in 1979, says Giroud cannot be expected to shoulder the goalscoring burden up top alone.

Highbury hero Brady insists Wenger will also have to bolster his squad in midfield and defence.

He said: “Olivier Giroud has done a marvellous job up there on his own this season and we lost Theo Walcott for a lot of the season, who was chipping in with goals.

“But I do think Giroud could do with a partner or somebody to give him a rest every now and again.

“You need two or three top-class strikers if you’re going to win the title.

“A defensive midfield player and a central defender are also needed.

“So there will be maybe three players on the shopping list and I think the club have put themselves in a position to do business this season.

“If we can win the FA Cup and also qualify for the Champions League, it gives Arsene a real platform to build on for next term.”